With the NHL offseason less than a week away from kicking off regardless of the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to start thinking about which teams are best positioned to make the biggest moves to improve their rosters.
Daily Faceoff managing editor Matt Larkin recently refreshed his trade board, and he included pending restricted free agent Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson as a name to keep an eye on.
Coming off of a 96-point season with the Stars and in need of a new contract on a team with limited cap space, Robertson could find a new home as Dallas general manager Jim Nill looks to increase flexibility while maximizing a possible return if he can’t work out a contract that works for both team and player.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed why if Robertson becomes available, pretty much every team should take a run at adding a player of his caliber.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Last name I’ll quickly throw your way is from the sort of blockbuster tier on [Matt] Larkin’s board. Jason Robertson, obviously a pending RFA, I think the name, ‘Big stars, Big swings’ is what Larkin says. It would be a big swing for anyone going after a Jason Robertson. Is there a name out there that you like?
Carter Hutton: Seattle, Seattle, Seattle. Just because this is a team that I think about struggles with putting the puck in the net. We looked last year, I think Jordan Eberle was their leading scorer. He ended up about 107th in the NHL in points. So if you could land a fish like Jason Robertson, that’d be a big pull. I know they had Bobby McMann, potentially going to free agency where he’s at. I just think they need goals and if you could make that work, I don’t know how the numbers would work trying to pry Jason Robertson from the Dallas Stars, but Seattle is a team that needs to create offense because they were well coached with Lane Lambert. I think they overachieve, you could say in my personal opinion, playing as a dynamic group, but goals are hard to come by in the NHL, and Jason Robertson has that part figured out.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, there’s a whole bunch of teams. I was looking at who the bottom 10 were in power play percentage this year. Robertson had 15 power play goals. Like, the New York Islanders. What’s their kind of mindset heading into this summer? They finished third from the bottom in power play percentage last year. Do they feel like, you know, with Matthew Schaefer exceeding expectations in year one, should they maybe try to push their timeline up a little bit quicker? We know Pete DeBoer is going to be behind the bench there as well. Not 100% sure what their relationship was like in Dallas, but there is some history there between the two.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
